Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season Two (2001)

Creator: Larry David

The chain reaction humor, the miscommunications, the victim of circumstance, all those elements that were at play in the first season of the show are once again on full display here in the second. In some cases they're refined and done even better, but most importantly there are some stakes that are introduced. Larry pitches a TV show with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and his actions during the show actually have consequences for how those pitch meetings go, which is to say not well. There is real damage done to his career and personal relationships. Now the show is still very episodic, as the TV show pitch plot comes and goes, and there's not much of a serial narrative.

The show still is a joy to watch just because it's quite expertly plotted, though the structure is a little familiar now, and so we're pretty sure that the odd thing that happened to Larry in the beginning of the episode is going to come back to bite him in the ass later on. One particular episode that stood out was the episode with Shaquille O'Neal. That episode was special because it introduces a new experience in Larry's life. We've been seeing the same side of him for the whole show but that episode we see a different side, a side that is satisfied with the worlds reaction to him. He finds himself in a situation in which he doesn't have to deal with people anymore, and he loves it. I definitely hope for more adventurous episodes like that one in the future. It's a hilarious show that I think has the potential to be even better.

Grade: B

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season One (2000)

Creator: Larry David

It was hard for me to figure exactly what this show was trying to do in its first season, but it was certainly funny and showed potential. Larry David plays himself, and he plays sort of a social observer role poking fun at social norms. His character is in the vein of Woody Allen, but without the personal stakes that Allen had in his films. David shows great talent in plotting episodic TV comedy, but I found his character mostly one-note, because unlike Allen's films, there wasn't much at stake. This is a show though that has gone on for many seasons, so I would not be surprised to learn quite a bit more when I see more episodes (and similarly I can't imagine a show like this going on for 5+ seasons without stakes).

The average episodes basically seem to unspool a yarn of unfortunate events that occur due to unforeseen events that unfold due to usually some innocent action that David did. It's the classic comedy of chain reaction. For example we might see one very subtle racist comment that David makes becomes so much more by the end of the night, affecting his wife's health. Even though the dialogue is improv, the plotting sure isn't, and the plotting is done very well and seems almost effortless which is remarkable considering the planning that has to go into writing these types of stories. What the show does well this season is establish a tone, and a feel for who David is. I hope the subsequent seasons do better in creating cohesive stories that actually affect David's life more substantially.

Grade: B-